DiNapoli Secures Deal With Key Bank On Political Spending

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced this afternoon he had reached a deal with Key Bank to reveal its political spending, lobbying and employee-sponsored political contributions.

The agreement comes as DiNapoli is suing the telecommunications giant Qualcomm in order to take a look at their books when it comes to political activity.

DiNapoli’s argument is that shareholders — in this case the state’s pension fund — has the right to know how much is being spent by a corporation on campaigns meant to influence public policy.

Key Bank runs the state’s general fund.

“KeyCorp has taken a positive step for transparency and corporate accountability by agreeing to reveal its political contributions,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “When companies make their corporate political donations public, shareholders can evaluate if their interests are aligned with management’s. More companies should follow the lead of KeyCorp and voluntarily disclose information that shareholders have a right to know.”

The annonucement comes as state officials across New York are pushing for various ways of forcing more disclosure of these well-funded independent expenditure campaigns. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is pushing the tax-exempt groups to reveal more information and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his State of the State address announced a disclosure proposal that would require notification of contributions above $500 within 48 hours.